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Oregon to Host 2005 International Youth Summit (SALEM, Oregon) - Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski announced today that Salem, Oregon has been selected as the host site for the 19th Annual Caretakers of the Environment International (CEI) Conference July 2-9, 2005. The conference theme, "Forging New Partnerships with the Economic Community," will partner high school students and teachers with businesses to enhance the environmental and economic health of their community. More than 200 high school student delegates from at least 20 countries are expected to accept the partnership challenge and present findings at the Youth Environmental Summit - nicknamed YES 05. "This environmental conference will directly engage the economic sector with students to develop viable solutions to global issues," said Governor Kulongoski. "And I know that Oregon is the place to foster this proactive approach." Dan Hoynacki, Oregon State University Extension Service's Sustainable Communities Project Coordinator, and Ryan Kinnett, a Salem teacher and representative of the International Schoolhouse, were awarded the 2005 CEI Conference after attending CEI's 2004 Conference in Thessaloniki, Greece in July. Hoynacki and Kinnett received the honor based upon their work with youth and natural resource professionals in after-school watershed education in Marion County. Details of the conference, including the challenge project description, can be found on the web site: www.yes05.org, e-mail at info@yes05.org. Teachers and students will begin working on projects within their local communities, collaborate online with their international colleagues, and then meet at the conference to share their journeys and work in multinational teams. "We are extremely excited to see the challenges and solutions that these world teams bring forth to the conference," said Hoynacki. "Engaging the economic community will help close the gap between education, the environment and what some believe is the real world. This is a tremendous opportunity for businesses to approach new environmental stewardship methods in a laboratory setting before implementing policy change." Kinnett, who accompanied five student delegates to the CEI Conference in Greece to showcase their restoration work at the Fairview Industrial Park mitigated wetlands, agrees. "We have seen local youth gain invaluable experience from interacting with resource professionals and students in an international setting," said Kinnett. "This is as about as relevant as education can get." For more information about the 2005 Youth Environmental Summit, contact Dan Hoynacki at dan.hoynacki@oregonstate.edu, Ryan Kinnett at ryan.kinnett@oregonstate.edu, or visit the summit web site at www.yes05.org or yes05@teleport.com. |
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